I'm surprised this only gets one mention, an approach refreshingly devoid of blind acceptance of tradition.

Trout Bum, by John Geirach.

Well, pretty much anything by John Gierach.

I will - "A River Never Sleeps" is just about the best fishing book I have ever read.

I agree about the excellence of the books by Bob Wyatt, John Gierach (all of them) and Thomas McGuane, and I'll also add a word for our very own Grayson's "A Dream of Jewelled Fishes".

I haven't much to say about more strictly instructional books, not because I don't read them - I've been known to hoover them up - but more because my criterion is more around the relevance and reliability of the advice in them than their literary qualities.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

another one would be Henzells art of loch fishing,, easker1

I can see by your avatar you're on the funny fags again, ohanzee, and your taste in literature confirms it. ;-)

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Stan Headley

"I started this life with nothing......and I've still got most of it left!"

i have read yours, it engaged me till the end and was a worthy read, but it changed little of what i do or think, few books do, Wyatt's did, this is the criteria i'd evaluate by.

Agreed. Full of humour and great anecdotes you can really relate to.

Bob Wyatt is also a very talented writer.

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www.paypalsucks.com

Neither would Van Morrison, if you're talking personalites. Still both outstanding writers in their respective fields.

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www.paypalsucks.com

On the back of the recommendations made on this thread - I have just read "A River Never Sleeps" by Roderick L Haig Brown for the first time. I think this probably is "the best fly fishing book" in the world.

Cheers

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The Coquet Trout

http://coquetfishing.blogspot.com/